News Letter of the Los Angeles County Public Library October 1957

Vol. 11 No. 4
FROM THE
CORNER OFFICE
NEWS LETTER
LOS ANGELES COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY
322 S. BROADWAY P.O. Box 111 LOS ANIJELES 53, CALIF"ORNIA
~~
Nme11ber 1957
Considering the ntimber of items covered in this is_sne _of_ the
News Letter, it is quite appropriate to calL this our Harvest
number.
The Annual Report was released_e.ar.lier in the month and I am
proud to have t his review or our service for 1956-57 promulgatec.L to . our borrowers,
staff members, city and county 01·ficials, and the library profession. I shall
resist smmnarizing the report beyond saying· t hat it is a record of proeress in
our building program, the developing of the bOok collection, and the improvement
of salaries and strengthening of the staff'.
From the Annual Report, we turn to .the preliminary budget
request for 1958-59, and I am .read;<1 to .announca _that. _it_is going to be a little
monster. By this liL meant that substantial__ increases_ will be asked_ ror books,
for pers.onnei,__and.-for bujJdjng.s. Tha new ~udget wilL_re.fl..ect broad-gauge think­ing
on the library program_ for two mi11-ion people, hali'._ o.f whom reside in the 34
cities in the Library District. We also plan to lay out a schedule of year-by­year
improvements in raci~ities, equipment, stai·f, and buildings that envision
requirements 1·or a growipg popillatioh from the immediate present to the year 1970.
Regional librarians, branch staff members and the Central staff' will be brought
into this planning in its initial stages.
The California Library Association's convention at Fresno was
as inspiration to the 600 lit>rariana_who were __ pri:vilege_cL to attend.- and take part
in ·the program. Well deserved compliments_ have been received by President Henry
Madden and his assiatants for the thoroughly planned~- smooth1-y run._con!'erence
that offered so much solicL inr_ormati an and.- so many new and_ rerreshing . approaches
to our professi.onal _problems.
Activities of this Harvest month included a trip to Berkeley,
in order to meet with the Advisory Committee to study book selection and rejec­tion
in the public libraries of California., which is being conducted._ by the Library
School of the University of California; a program on KFI in which the County
Librarian was interviewed by Edward Stickney, Chief Deputy to.Supervisor John
Anson Ford; and several trips to the Huntingt_on Libracy: __ to _study the Jayhawker
files in connection with the neath_ Valley '49era! program November 8-ll.
Other activities included: a week end's rest at Lake Tahoe
with Mro Geller and Earl Strathman, the Chief Administrative Officer of Alameda
County) co'l"f'9r-ences with the sales manager of Vroman 1s on the general subject
of e:xpe~diting vendor service) meetings and telephone conversations with city
managers wi t 11 reg~d to library service ror cities; in addition to a meeting of
the County Human Relations C.ommittee anci a conf'.erence_ with Architect fieishman
and Mro Geller in connection with preliminary plana for the Culver City branch
library buildingo
* *'* * * The annual meeting of the California Libr_ary Association
was held in Fresno. October 16 - 18, and was attended by Mr. Henderson,, _Mr. Geller,
and several members 01· Central and branches s t, p f"f . The incomplete impressionistic
summary which follows admittecUy overstresses the Los Angeles County Public
Library aspects of the conference.
The County Library 1 s book catalog was _menti.oned in an address
on Automation by Dr. Herman.Fussler, Librarian or the University of Chicago.
Mention was also made of the .book catalog at a meeting of the College and Univer­sities
Library Section, discussing the subject of Automation and the use of el ec­tronic
equipment in the treating of inf'ormation.
Mrs. Ettilie Wallace of the San_Vicente Branch was the speaker
at the Audio=Visual Committee luncheon. Mrs. Wallace's topic was "Producing a
Prize Winning Film". Foilowing her talk, she showed the film "Come in, Jupiter"•
'llhe meet ing was attended by Mr. Gelleijwho -reports:: "As a member of the County
Library staff:; I was proud to have Mrs. Wallace make t his presentation. The film
was truly something quite · different... She used an adap.tat.ion of a kaleidoscope,
with light shining indirect1-y on.it. It._ is _ an unusual technic which has excited
a good deal of admiration among the experienced audio-visual librarians present.
As a member of the RAgional Reso-urces Committee.11 ~s. MacQuarrie ·
attended a luncheon program at wmch a project concerriing the _compil.in:g .of a list
of foreign language dictionarias.. and_ grammars in Afri canese. and other rare languages
available in Southern California libraries was discussed.
As Secretary of t he Planning Committee for a CLA Staff Organiza­tions
Round Table, Miss Gr.e.ening p_ar.ticipat ed in meeting_a._o.f. that group:; i n which
far~reaching policy decisiona were made.
· :Mr. Geller, as_ Chai rm an of ~ the Audit: Commit.tee _of the Uni ver­si
ty of Cali.fornia School. of· Librarianship Alumni. As.so.ciation gave___ some time to -
the financial aspects of the Association at meetings of hi-a committee.
At the opening genera.Lsession, .Mro Henderson presided over
the part, 01' the program devoted to the -observance of the centennial .of the birth
of James Lo Gillis. This program included talks by three librarian.a. who. knew
Mr. Gillis and who worked with him. in the earlier years of_ county library service
in this stateo The brief_ addresses __ were given__ by Harriet_ Go Eddy :;- former member
of the State Library st.a.fr,_ -Eleanor Hit.t Morgan, _ Assis.taut State Librarian under
Mabel R. Gillis, and Susan T. Smith, (retired) Librariail, Berkelay Public .Library,
and member of the State Library staf'r under JaJ11es. L.,_ Gillis.
The guest of honor on this occasion was Mabel Ro Gillis,
State Librarian:; 1930 - 1952, and daughter of James L. Gillis; the program was
concluded with a few words from her.
-2-
>
This was followed by a luncheon meeting. of the friends of Miss
Gillis, many of them now retired, and a large number of younger and, shall we say,
middle-period librarians? The luncheon was an informal event in which old-timers
were called upon to reminisce briefly,giving them a chance to visit with each
other, and with Miss Gillis, and to remind the others in the group of the early
years of librarianship in Calii'ornia. The County Librarian presided at the program.
Of particular interest at this convention was the program
offered by the Trustees. The luncheon was to feature Governor Knight; unt·ortunately,
illness prevented his appearance. His address was read by P,~rcy Heckendorf, a
trustee from the Santa Barbara Public Library. GoYernor Knight expressed his inter­est
and support of public libraries, which li.hr.ar:ians are aware or· through the
successf'ul legislative ~ar the pJ."ofe~sion has enioved. Reference was made b the
Governor to the Library Commission, which will study public libra!".f service in the
light of standards and needs throughout California.
Reports of the convention will appear in future issues of News
Notes of Cali1'ornia Libraries and the Ca1ti'ornia Librarian.
FORD
HONORED
Each yea:r two members of the Trustee 1 s Section of t he Cal ifornia
LibrarJ Association are awarded a citation in recognition of
their contributions t o public library service. Percy Heckendorf,
Trustee o.f the Santa Barbara Public Library, and J elm Anson Ford, Chairman of the
Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and Departmental Cha.ii"!llan of the Libr8.IjJ re­ceived
the awards this year. The citation reads as follows:
"The Executive Board of the Calii'ornia Library Association
takes pleasure in presenting to
JOHN ANSON FORD
t his special Trustee Citation in recognition of outstanding
contributions to the library and its service to the ccnmrunity.
Issued this :U:ith day of October, one thous_and,,_ nine hundred fif'ty=seven.,
FOR THE JURY ON TRUSTEES__ CITATIONS FOR THE EXECUTIVE BOARD
Edith W. Taylor (signed) Chairman Henry Miller Madden (signed)
President .
- - George rF-o- Farrier ( si_gned)
Vice~Presictent
Edna H., Yella._"ld (signed)
Secretary"
The presentation was made at the Board of Supervisors'meeting, October 29, in behalf
of the Executive Board of the Calii'ornia Library Association by the new President,
George F., Farrier, Librarian, Alhambra Public Library.
AUTHORS FOR
BREAKFAST
-Librarians are known to subsist largely on a steady diet 01·
printed words and good books, including the best of those
"hot off the press.•t However, this is not to be taken as an
indication that the forthcoming Harvest Breakrast on the 2-0th is going to be j ust
a conventional meeting for literary gourmets.. On the contrary, we expect this
~th annual author's breakfast to be an unusually interesting and stimulating event,
honoring authors with sparkling personalities and unusual talents. Furthermore,
the surroundings will be pleasant, as usual, with an abundance of Statler's good
food and coffee~
-3-
Six outstanding authors will tell us about their books and
their experiences in writing them. Ray Bradbury, President of the Science­Fantasy
Writers' Association, who wrote the script for the motion picture "Moby
Dick" and is widely known for his books in the field of _imaginative fiction, is
a native Angeleno ··.nd will be there with . his iatest_ success, Dandelion Wine o
Another will be Romain Gary, French Consul-General.. at Los AngelesJ whose novel,
Roots of Heaven, won the Prix Goncourt for 1956 and has just been translated
into English. Monsieur Gary will be accompanied by his. wire, Lesley Blanch Gary,
an accomplished writer in her own right, whose books .. include memoirs .of famous
women.
Other writer-speakers include Chin Y. Lee, San Francisco
Chinese newspaper editor and author of The Flower Drum Song9 a first novel now
being made into a Broadway play, and Janet Stevenson, wbose Weep No More, also
a first novel,11 is a dramatic story of. .a woman Yankee spy in the Civil War.
Also with us will be the dramatist and novelist, John van Druten.9 who lives on
the edge or the Salton Sea and whose long lists or .plays and novels extends from
Young Woodley in 1Y~5 to The Widening Circle, the latter» jus~ published9 being
a ffpersonal search" for spiritual accord.
Reservations m-e $2.50 per person and checks shoul d be made
payable to Helen O'C• Wright, who is in charge cf the programo The time and place:
Wednesdayr November 20, 9 to 11 A.M., the Terrace Room, Statler Hotel, Figueroa
Street between 7th and Wilshireo Reservation requests and r emittances must be
sent to Mrso Grace Cullar at the Central Library.
ANNUAL REPORT
IN FULL DRESS
The report 1·o:r the fiscal year ending June 303 highlights of
which were given in the News Letter for September, is back
.from the pri nter and ready for distribution. Gayly attired
in an orange and beige wrapper, with black lettering, it is smart and attractive
in appearance, thanks to Madalene Otteson's originality in combining artistic
design and br ight contrasting colors.
The pl.,easi ng ef fect 01' t tLe r cpo:;'.'t is ar: tmritation to read
its stimulating review of our initial provcess ~: nder t ne r eor :;,ani zat ion p1ano
Illustrations are f rom phot-or::raphs showin~r interiors and. exter i ors 01· new '.Jranch
buildings (in -addition to one showing the Librarian. inform·ing di vision he ads of
a point in decentraliz.ation) . and the center spread_ is a fine new map of Los Angeles
County showing the areas.. serveci by the libraryo There are three pages of vital
statistics, a list of regions and branches, with cir.cul.ation figures and names of
branch librarians, and a reproduction or t he Central Library organization chart.
Assisting Mro Henderson in t he preparation irere Cath.crine Gr eeni.."lg.l> Marian Hayes,
and Uarda Winton, and Leota Wright for the money colmnnso
Thanks are sent to all in the field who participated in the
year's work and helped to supply the needed information. It is felt t hat the
report i s indeed a "spring-board" for yet greater achievements t o come
-4-
BUSINESS
MANAGER
Robert M. Davis assumed his duties as the Library's business
manager,. October 21. Mr. Davis comes to us from the Audit
Division of the County Auditor and has had previous experience
as an Accountant at the Harbor General Hospital and the County Engineer0 As Busi­ness
Manager,.he will be in charge of personnel, accounting _and _maintenance opera­tions
of the Business Management Division under the supervisiori__o.f_Mr .• Geller 0
His first duty will be t he preparation of the 195tl-59 budget.
NEWHALL Dedication ceremonies and open house for the Newhall Branch
have been set for November US, at 2.t.30.. The new building,,
bu.il t at a cost of · 1134, 793,, has an_ ar.ea of. L-~600 square feet~
with a book atock capacity of_, o.-.zer.._18.,_QQQ_ volumea. Space._ has been_ provided for
off street_parki ng and for future e~~sion.___ The branch__ was_ fir at _ established
March 1916 and moved to its present location in 192.3; this_ waaj- ho.wever. enlarged
to its present area of 800 square feet in. 1935.
TERRACE Construction of a new branch libra!"J for Terrace was: author-ized
by the Board of Supervisors, October e. The buildi ng,
to be located at 4110 City Terrace Drive, will have 4000
square feet, as compared to the ~ available at the present site, and will be
air conditioned. f?Oo
FEATURED
IN PARADES
The Library took active part in two parades this month, the
Hey Day Parade, October 12 at South San Gabriel and the
Hallowe 1en P-arade, October 26 at Rosemead. The .Library was
represented in the parades by gayly decorated cars. We_ are proud to announce
that Mrs. Arnold, South S1Ul Gabriel branch librarian received a purple ribbon
award for her entry.
LIBRARY
ON AIR
and s ~rvices
An explanation of county · libra!"J services was given by the
County Librarian in a radio interview, November 3 over KFI.
Mr. Henderson answered questions on t he history, organization
of the County Library.
SERVICE STARTS AT 0.fficia.L_lib~ serdce_for. the bo.ys at Loa Padrinos, the
NEW INSTITU:T-ION- --new Juven-ile--.HaH:: at: .-72:85~Qtt-iJ:3:::::n-ri.Ye, Hondo, began September 1.
Service was pl.anned by Barbar.a Wigh_t, Institutions Librarian,
to coincide with the start of the Los Padrinos achoo:L programo_ For the time being
the Library program will be handled through the Hall's recreational directoro Books
sent included juvenile and Young Adult volumes, all recreational reading.
SERVICE PIN Mrs. Della Lossing, First Assistant, Compton branch, received
her JO-year service pin this month. It was presented by
Supervisor John .Anson Ford at a congratulatory luncheon given
for her and other thirty-year. County Empl.oyees_at _ nascanso. Gar.denso Mrso Lossing
has spent all of her . service-.year.s at the Comp.ton branch.
-5-
STAFF OFFICERS
ARE ELECTED
New officers of the Staff As~ociation, elected at the Septem­ber
27 general business meetinl?Jare: Luigia Ao Castiello,
Administration, President; Mrso Mary Rogers Smith9 Central
Services» Vice=President;; Mrs., Consuelo Bojor~ez., Technical _Serv'l.ces 9 Secretary;
Mrso Zella Sharpe, Property & Transportation,_heasur_ero The following have been
appointed-Chairman of the various. connnittees.: Elizabeth Haney9 Regional» House;
Helen Mencher9 Regional, Social;: Dora Kunishige9 Regional, Weliare; and Jerry
Bowles9 Technicalg Publie Relationso
STAFF WELCOMES NEW A do-nut and cider· party was given by the Staff Association
MEMBERS AT PARTY October 30 honoring newcomers Robert Davis9 Business Manager,
Juanelda Carter, Typist Clerk, Technical Services, and Charles
Hillary9 Clerks Technical Services. Two staff members received service pins;
William So Geller, a 20 year service pin, and Madal.ene. Otteson.si a 10 year pino
Mr-o Geller has been with the Library since 19Mii Mrso Otte.son has spent the 10
years wi. th us as the Library artist.
LETTER OF PRAISE
FOR MRSo FREER
A letter of appreciation for service given a patron -was
received this month by Mr., Henderson. Mrso Johnson wrote~
"Dear Sir:: I wish to thank y ou for the services Pve
received from our County LibrariJ--Live Oak Brancho Mrso Freer is so helpful
and so understanding with my childreno Last winter I attended Pasadena City
College and had dozens of books sent to me to use on themes in American Insti=
tutionso I know this was a lot of trouble and expense .so thank you for this
serviceo I owe my good grade to the fine selection_ oL the.se books_o.:n"' o •••• • o.
HONORS TO
NORWOOD LIBRARIAN
ttCongratulat.ions1 Felicitations.l Wir Gratuliereno The lan­guage
Council awards Mrs. Harriet E. Butl.er five dollars for
submitting both the masthead. a.~d the name ~Linguistv for our
new f oreigh language paper .-11 from The P. C. C. Ling'liist v o l j.l no. 1, June 195 7.
A poem written by Mrs. Butler, Norwood branch librarian, de­scribing
a Spanish class was published in this issue 01· t he foreign language paper
published by the Foreign Language Council of Pasadena City College .
AFTER HOUR
CLASSES-.
"Employee Report
Assistant, at the
STAFF NEWS
AND NOTES
ledge.si Theodore
Administration would like to he.ar from s.taff members who are
taking advantage. or the many educational opportunities which
are available through daytime ancL evening classeso A copy of
of Completed Training" may be obtained from Mrso Hayes9 Personnel
end of the semestero . ,
In order to work on special assignments including the book
selection policy statement and on problems connected with
the book coJ.lection involving special bibliographical know-
Hewi tson has been transferred to Administration.
Mary K. Pierson has been appointed Children.•s Librarian, Region Voooo Flora Moore,
Typist Clerks Technical.. Services resigned to be with her family ... o o Helen M., Wood
became Mrso. Rel.en M...:. Grayson, October 6. o o o Sandra Camps.i.e_, Mr o Henderson's secre­tary
9 was awarded.. a certificat.e for satisfactorily completing the institute course
in the field of secretarial training c.onducted by the staff.. of the Bureau of Business
Praeticeo Mrs., Jessie Ann Cook.si Stephenson branch librarian, whos.e resignation
was accepted with regrets this month, was presented a beautiful_ cake_ with 7.0 candles
on it by the East Central Area Welfare Planning Councile
-6- ..
-CG::rlr

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Vol. 11 No. 4
FROM THE
CORNER OFFICE
NEWS LETTER
LOS ANGELES COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY
322 S. BROADWAY P.O. Box 111 LOS ANIJELES 53, CALIF"ORNIA
~~
Nme11ber 1957
Considering the ntimber of items covered in this is_sne _of_ the
News Letter, it is quite appropriate to calL this our Harvest
number.
The Annual Report was released_e.ar.lier in the month and I am
proud to have t his review or our service for 1956-57 promulgatec.L to . our borrowers,
staff members, city and county 01·ficials, and the library profession. I shall
resist smmnarizing the report beyond saying· t hat it is a record of proeress in
our building program, the developing of the bOok collection, and the improvement
of salaries and strengthening of the staff'.
From the Annual Report, we turn to .the preliminary budget
request for 1958-59, and I am .read;<1 to .announca _that. _it_is going to be a little
monster. By this liL meant that substantial__ increases_ will be asked_ ror books,
for pers.onnei,__and.-for bujJdjng.s. Tha new ~udget wilL_re.fl..ect broad-gauge think­ing
on the library program_ for two mi11-ion people, hali'._ o.f whom reside in the 34
cities in the Library District. We also plan to lay out a schedule of year-by­year
improvements in raci~ities, equipment, stai·f, and buildings that envision
requirements 1·or a growipg popillatioh from the immediate present to the year 1970.
Regional librarians, branch staff members and the Central staff' will be brought
into this planning in its initial stages.
The California Library Association's convention at Fresno was
as inspiration to the 600 lit>rariana_who were __ pri:vilege_cL to attend.- and take part
in ·the program. Well deserved compliments_ have been received by President Henry
Madden and his assiatants for the thoroughly planned~- smooth1-y run._con!'erence
that offered so much solicL inr_ormati an and.- so many new and_ rerreshing . approaches
to our professi.onal _problems.
Activities of this Harvest month included a trip to Berkeley,
in order to meet with the Advisory Committee to study book selection and rejec­tion
in the public libraries of California., which is being conducted._ by the Library
School of the University of California; a program on KFI in which the County
Librarian was interviewed by Edward Stickney, Chief Deputy to.Supervisor John
Anson Ford; and several trips to the Huntingt_on Libracy: __ to _study the Jayhawker
files in connection with the neath_ Valley '49era! program November 8-ll.
Other activities included: a week end's rest at Lake Tahoe
with Mro Geller and Earl Strathman, the Chief Administrative Officer of Alameda
County) co'l"f'9r-ences with the sales manager of Vroman 1s on the general subject
of e:xpe~diting vendor service) meetings and telephone conversations with city
managers wi t 11 reg~d to library service ror cities; in addition to a meeting of
the County Human Relations C.ommittee anci a conf'.erence_ with Architect fieishman
and Mro Geller in connection with preliminary plana for the Culver City branch
library buildingo
* *'* * * The annual meeting of the California Libr_ary Association
was held in Fresno. October 16 - 18, and was attended by Mr. Henderson,, _Mr. Geller,
and several members 01· Central and branches s t, p f"f . The incomplete impressionistic
summary which follows admittecUy overstresses the Los Angeles County Public
Library aspects of the conference.
The County Library 1 s book catalog was _menti.oned in an address
on Automation by Dr. Herman.Fussler, Librarian or the University of Chicago.
Mention was also made of the .book catalog at a meeting of the College and Univer­sities
Library Section, discussing the subject of Automation and the use of el ec­tronic
equipment in the treating of inf'ormation.
Mrs. Ettilie Wallace of the San_Vicente Branch was the speaker
at the Audio=Visual Committee luncheon. Mrs. Wallace's topic was "Producing a
Prize Winning Film". Foilowing her talk, she showed the film "Come in, Jupiter"•
'llhe meet ing was attended by Mr. Gelleijwho -reports:: "As a member of the County
Library staff:; I was proud to have Mrs. Wallace make t his presentation. The film
was truly something quite · different... She used an adap.tat.ion of a kaleidoscope,
with light shining indirect1-y on.it. It._ is _ an unusual technic which has excited
a good deal of admiration among the experienced audio-visual librarians present.
As a member of the RAgional Reso-urces Committee.11 ~s. MacQuarrie ·
attended a luncheon program at wmch a project concerriing the _compil.in:g .of a list
of foreign language dictionarias.. and_ grammars in Afri canese. and other rare languages
available in Southern California libraries was discussed.
As Secretary of t he Planning Committee for a CLA Staff Organiza­tions
Round Table, Miss Gr.e.ening p_ar.ticipat ed in meeting_a._o.f. that group:; i n which
far~reaching policy decisiona were made.
· :Mr. Geller, as_ Chai rm an of ~ the Audit: Commit.tee _of the Uni ver­si
ty of Cali.fornia School. of· Librarianship Alumni. As.so.ciation gave___ some time to -
the financial aspects of the Association at meetings of hi-a committee.
At the opening genera.Lsession, .Mro Henderson presided over
the part, 01' the program devoted to the -observance of the centennial .of the birth
of James Lo Gillis. This program included talks by three librarian.a. who. knew
Mr. Gillis and who worked with him. in the earlier years of_ county library service
in this stateo The brief_ addresses __ were given__ by Harriet_ Go Eddy :;- former member
of the State Library st.a.fr,_ -Eleanor Hit.t Morgan, _ Assis.taut State Librarian under
Mabel R. Gillis, and Susan T. Smith, (retired) Librariail, Berkelay Public .Library,
and member of the State Library staf'r under JaJ11es. L.,_ Gillis.
The guest of honor on this occasion was Mabel Ro Gillis,
State Librarian:; 1930 - 1952, and daughter of James L. Gillis; the program was
concluded with a few words from her.
-2-
>
This was followed by a luncheon meeting. of the friends of Miss
Gillis, many of them now retired, and a large number of younger and, shall we say,
middle-period librarians? The luncheon was an informal event in which old-timers
were called upon to reminisce briefly,giving them a chance to visit with each
other, and with Miss Gillis, and to remind the others in the group of the early
years of librarianship in Calii'ornia. The County Librarian presided at the program.
Of particular interest at this convention was the program
offered by the Trustees. The luncheon was to feature Governor Knight; unt·ortunately,
illness prevented his appearance. His address was read by P,~rcy Heckendorf, a
trustee from the Santa Barbara Public Library. GoYernor Knight expressed his inter­est
and support of public libraries, which li.hr.ar:ians are aware or· through the
successf'ul legislative ~ar the pJ."ofe~sion has enioved. Reference was made b the
Governor to the Library Commission, which will study public libra!".f service in the
light of standards and needs throughout California.
Reports of the convention will appear in future issues of News
Notes of Cali1'ornia Libraries and the Ca1ti'ornia Librarian.
FORD
HONORED
Each yea:r two members of the Trustee 1 s Section of t he Cal ifornia
LibrarJ Association are awarded a citation in recognition of
their contributions t o public library service. Percy Heckendorf,
Trustee o.f the Santa Barbara Public Library, and J elm Anson Ford, Chairman of the
Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and Departmental Cha.ii"!llan of the Libr8.IjJ re­ceived
the awards this year. The citation reads as follows:
"The Executive Board of the Calii'ornia Library Association
takes pleasure in presenting to
JOHN ANSON FORD
t his special Trustee Citation in recognition of outstanding
contributions to the library and its service to the ccnmrunity.
Issued this :U:ith day of October, one thous_and,,_ nine hundred fif'ty=seven.,
FOR THE JURY ON TRUSTEES__ CITATIONS FOR THE EXECUTIVE BOARD
Edith W. Taylor (signed) Chairman Henry Miller Madden (signed)
President .
- - George rF-o- Farrier ( si_gned)
Vice~Presictent
Edna H., Yella._"ld (signed)
Secretary"
The presentation was made at the Board of Supervisors'meeting, October 29, in behalf
of the Executive Board of the Calii'ornia Library Association by the new President,
George F., Farrier, Librarian, Alhambra Public Library.
AUTHORS FOR
BREAKFAST
-Librarians are known to subsist largely on a steady diet 01·
printed words and good books, including the best of those
"hot off the press.•t However, this is not to be taken as an
indication that the forthcoming Harvest Breakrast on the 2-0th is going to be j ust
a conventional meeting for literary gourmets.. On the contrary, we expect this
~th annual author's breakfast to be an unusually interesting and stimulating event,
honoring authors with sparkling personalities and unusual talents. Furthermore,
the surroundings will be pleasant, as usual, with an abundance of Statler's good
food and coffee~
-3-
Six outstanding authors will tell us about their books and
their experiences in writing them. Ray Bradbury, President of the Science­Fantasy
Writers' Association, who wrote the script for the motion picture "Moby
Dick" and is widely known for his books in the field of _imaginative fiction, is
a native Angeleno ··.nd will be there with . his iatest_ success, Dandelion Wine o
Another will be Romain Gary, French Consul-General.. at Los AngelesJ whose novel,
Roots of Heaven, won the Prix Goncourt for 1956 and has just been translated
into English. Monsieur Gary will be accompanied by his. wire, Lesley Blanch Gary,
an accomplished writer in her own right, whose books .. include memoirs .of famous
women.
Other writer-speakers include Chin Y. Lee, San Francisco
Chinese newspaper editor and author of The Flower Drum Song9 a first novel now
being made into a Broadway play, and Janet Stevenson, wbose Weep No More, also
a first novel,11 is a dramatic story of. .a woman Yankee spy in the Civil War.
Also with us will be the dramatist and novelist, John van Druten.9 who lives on
the edge or the Salton Sea and whose long lists or .plays and novels extends from
Young Woodley in 1Y~5 to The Widening Circle, the latter» jus~ published9 being
a ffpersonal search" for spiritual accord.
Reservations m-e $2.50 per person and checks shoul d be made
payable to Helen O'C• Wright, who is in charge cf the programo The time and place:
Wednesdayr November 20, 9 to 11 A.M., the Terrace Room, Statler Hotel, Figueroa
Street between 7th and Wilshireo Reservation requests and r emittances must be
sent to Mrso Grace Cullar at the Central Library.
ANNUAL REPORT
IN FULL DRESS
The report 1·o:r the fiscal year ending June 303 highlights of
which were given in the News Letter for September, is back
.from the pri nter and ready for distribution. Gayly attired
in an orange and beige wrapper, with black lettering, it is smart and attractive
in appearance, thanks to Madalene Otteson's originality in combining artistic
design and br ight contrasting colors.
The pl.,easi ng ef fect 01' t tLe r cpo:;'.'t is ar: tmritation to read
its stimulating review of our initial provcess ~: nder t ne r eor :;,ani zat ion p1ano
Illustrations are f rom phot-or::raphs showin~r interiors and. exter i ors 01· new '.Jranch
buildings (in -addition to one showing the Librarian. inform·ing di vision he ads of
a point in decentraliz.ation) . and the center spread_ is a fine new map of Los Angeles
County showing the areas.. serveci by the libraryo There are three pages of vital
statistics, a list of regions and branches, with cir.cul.ation figures and names of
branch librarians, and a reproduction or t he Central Library organization chart.
Assisting Mro Henderson in t he preparation irere Cath.crine Gr eeni.."lg.l> Marian Hayes,
and Uarda Winton, and Leota Wright for the money colmnnso
Thanks are sent to all in the field who participated in the
year's work and helped to supply the needed information. It is felt t hat the
report i s indeed a "spring-board" for yet greater achievements t o come
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BUSINESS
MANAGER
Robert M. Davis assumed his duties as the Library's business
manager,. October 21. Mr. Davis comes to us from the Audit
Division of the County Auditor and has had previous experience
as an Accountant at the Harbor General Hospital and the County Engineer0 As Busi­ness
Manager,.he will be in charge of personnel, accounting _and _maintenance opera­tions
of the Business Management Division under the supervisiori__o.f_Mr .• Geller 0
His first duty will be t he preparation of the 195tl-59 budget.
NEWHALL Dedication ceremonies and open house for the Newhall Branch
have been set for November US, at 2.t.30.. The new building,,
bu.il t at a cost of · 1134, 793,, has an_ ar.ea of. L-~600 square feet~
with a book atock capacity of_, o.-.zer.._18.,_QQQ_ volumea. Space._ has been_ provided for
off street_parki ng and for future e~~sion.___ The branch__ was_ fir at _ established
March 1916 and moved to its present location in 192.3; this_ waaj- ho.wever. enlarged
to its present area of 800 square feet in. 1935.
TERRACE Construction of a new branch libra!"J for Terrace was: author-ized
by the Board of Supervisors, October e. The buildi ng,
to be located at 4110 City Terrace Drive, will have 4000
square feet, as compared to the ~ available at the present site, and will be
air conditioned. f?Oo
FEATURED
IN PARADES
The Library took active part in two parades this month, the
Hey Day Parade, October 12 at South San Gabriel and the
Hallowe 1en P-arade, October 26 at Rosemead. The .Library was
represented in the parades by gayly decorated cars. We_ are proud to announce
that Mrs. Arnold, South S1Ul Gabriel branch librarian received a purple ribbon
award for her entry.
LIBRARY
ON AIR
and s ~rvices
An explanation of county · libra!"J services was given by the
County Librarian in a radio interview, November 3 over KFI.
Mr. Henderson answered questions on t he history, organization
of the County Library.
SERVICE STARTS AT 0.fficia.L_lib~ serdce_for. the bo.ys at Loa Padrinos, the
NEW INSTITU:T-ION- --new Juven-ile--.HaH:: at: .-72:85~Qtt-iJ:3:::::n-ri.Ye, Hondo, began September 1.
Service was pl.anned by Barbar.a Wigh_t, Institutions Librarian,
to coincide with the start of the Los Padrinos achoo:L programo_ For the time being
the Library program will be handled through the Hall's recreational directoro Books
sent included juvenile and Young Adult volumes, all recreational reading.
SERVICE PIN Mrs. Della Lossing, First Assistant, Compton branch, received
her JO-year service pin this month. It was presented by
Supervisor John .Anson Ford at a congratulatory luncheon given
for her and other thirty-year. County Empl.oyees_at _ nascanso. Gar.denso Mrso Lossing
has spent all of her . service-.year.s at the Comp.ton branch.
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STAFF OFFICERS
ARE ELECTED
New officers of the Staff As~ociation, elected at the Septem­ber
27 general business meetinl?Jare: Luigia Ao Castiello,
Administration, President; Mrso Mary Rogers Smith9 Central
Services» Vice=President;; Mrs., Consuelo Bojor~ez., Technical _Serv'l.ces 9 Secretary;
Mrso Zella Sharpe, Property & Transportation,_heasur_ero The following have been
appointed-Chairman of the various. connnittees.: Elizabeth Haney9 Regional» House;
Helen Mencher9 Regional, Social;: Dora Kunishige9 Regional, Weliare; and Jerry
Bowles9 Technicalg Publie Relationso
STAFF WELCOMES NEW A do-nut and cider· party was given by the Staff Association
MEMBERS AT PARTY October 30 honoring newcomers Robert Davis9 Business Manager,
Juanelda Carter, Typist Clerk, Technical Services, and Charles
Hillary9 Clerks Technical Services. Two staff members received service pins;
William So Geller, a 20 year service pin, and Madal.ene. Otteson.si a 10 year pino
Mr-o Geller has been with the Library since 19Mii Mrso Otte.son has spent the 10
years wi. th us as the Library artist.
LETTER OF PRAISE
FOR MRSo FREER
A letter of appreciation for service given a patron -was
received this month by Mr., Henderson. Mrso Johnson wrote~
"Dear Sir:: I wish to thank y ou for the services Pve
received from our County LibrariJ--Live Oak Brancho Mrso Freer is so helpful
and so understanding with my childreno Last winter I attended Pasadena City
College and had dozens of books sent to me to use on themes in American Insti=
tutionso I know this was a lot of trouble and expense .so thank you for this
serviceo I owe my good grade to the fine selection_ oL the.se books_o.:n"' o •••• • o.
HONORS TO
NORWOOD LIBRARIAN
ttCongratulat.ions1 Felicitations.l Wir Gratuliereno The lan­guage
Council awards Mrs. Harriet E. Butl.er five dollars for
submitting both the masthead. a.~d the name ~Linguistv for our
new f oreigh language paper .-11 from The P. C. C. Ling'liist v o l j.l no. 1, June 195 7.
A poem written by Mrs. Butler, Norwood branch librarian, de­scribing
a Spanish class was published in this issue 01· t he foreign language paper
published by the Foreign Language Council of Pasadena City College .
AFTER HOUR
CLASSES-.
"Employee Report
Assistant, at the
STAFF NEWS
AND NOTES
ledge.si Theodore
Administration would like to he.ar from s.taff members who are
taking advantage. or the many educational opportunities which
are available through daytime ancL evening classeso A copy of
of Completed Training" may be obtained from Mrso Hayes9 Personnel
end of the semestero . ,
In order to work on special assignments including the book
selection policy statement and on problems connected with
the book coJ.lection involving special bibliographical know-
Hewi tson has been transferred to Administration.
Mary K. Pierson has been appointed Children.•s Librarian, Region Voooo Flora Moore,
Typist Clerks Technical.. Services resigned to be with her family ... o o Helen M., Wood
became Mrso. Rel.en M...:. Grayson, October 6. o o o Sandra Camps.i.e_, Mr o Henderson's secre­tary
9 was awarded.. a certificat.e for satisfactorily completing the institute course
in the field of secretarial training c.onducted by the staff.. of the Bureau of Business
Praeticeo Mrs., Jessie Ann Cook.si Stephenson branch librarian, whos.e resignation
was accepted with regrets this month, was presented a beautiful_ cake_ with 7.0 candles
on it by the East Central Area Welfare Planning Councile
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